Obama Budget Calls For $59M Smithsonian Increase

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Smithsonian Institution is requesting an increase of $59 million in President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for new education programs and to continue building a new black history museum on the National Mall.

The 2014 budget request announced Wednesday totals $869 million for the Smithsonian.

The president’s budget includes $55 million to build the National Museum of African American History and Culture and $21 million to design and build the new museum’s exhibits and programs. It’s scheduled to open in 2015.

Obama’s largest proposed funding increase for the Smithsonian is the addition of $25 million for education programs in science, technology, engineering and math. The Obama administration is consolidating the government’s so-called STEM funds into three agencies — the Education Department, the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian.